What Is Jean-Jacques Rousseau Discourse On The Origin Of Inequality
Philosophy 3418: Philosophy of Democracy Angela Beardsley May 14, 2018
Final Take Home Exam Inst.: Dr. Saner
IDENTIFICATION QUESTIONS (30 points) For each quotation below, identify the author and work. Give your answers as a vertical list on the first page of your completed exam submission.
A. Simone de Beauvoir, Introduction to the Second Sex
B. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
C. Charles W. Mills, The Racial Contract
D. Plato, Apology of Socrates
E. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
F. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail
G. Plato, Republic
H. Karl Marx, Estranged Labour
I. Iris Young, Five Faces of Oppression
J. Karl Marx, Estranged Labour
K. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse …show more content…
I argue that privileged whites can chose to rise above these created moral hierarchies that wrongly exploit and harm nonwhite people in order to move toward real equality rather than continuing to ignore the fact that our privilege comes at the expense of nonwhites. First, I am in agreement with Hobbes that human morality is relative and based on human ‘desires’ and ‘aversions’ rather than on objective truths (B). From this point, we are responsible for creating our own morality as individuals and as societies. I also agree with Rousseau that humans have free agency and therefore have the ability to override their desires and aversions, for better or worse ends (E). Regardless of whether humans are inherently selfish (Hobbes) or become selfish as a result of conflicts inherent in societies (Rousseau), humans can use their free agency to rise above their selfish inclinations. This will not be easy as the moral hierarchy that Mills refers to is built into the very structure of our society, according to Young (I) which makes it very easy for whites to claim they are not personally racist while economic, political, and cultural institutions maintain the moral hierarchy that privileges these same non-racist whites. However, with free agency and our ability to reason, we can examine and question those same institutions while at the same time seeking to identify privileges whites have that are harming nonwhites. One very obvious example of this is the growing segregation in American schools. We are fortunate to live in a very diverse county and there is a great deal of opportunity here to work toward integrating our schools. Whites are in a position to choose to make that a priority by staying in currently diverse areas and by actively working toward integration of
Final Take Home Exam Inst.: Dr. Saner
IDENTIFICATION QUESTIONS (30 points) For each quotation below, identify the author and work. Give your answers as a vertical list on the first page of your completed exam submission.
A. Simone de Beauvoir, Introduction to the Second Sex
B. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
C. Charles W. Mills, The Racial Contract
D. Plato, Apology of Socrates
E. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
F. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail
G. Plato, Republic
H. Karl Marx, Estranged Labour
I. Iris Young, Five Faces of Oppression
J. Karl Marx, Estranged Labour
K. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse …show more content…
I argue that privileged whites can chose to rise above these created moral hierarchies that wrongly exploit and harm nonwhite people in order to move toward real equality rather than continuing to ignore the fact that our privilege comes at the expense of nonwhites. First, I am in agreement with Hobbes that human morality is relative and based on human ‘desires’ and ‘aversions’ rather than on objective truths (B). From this point, we are responsible for creating our own morality as individuals and as societies. I also agree with Rousseau that humans have free agency and therefore have the ability to override their desires and aversions, for better or worse ends (E). Regardless of whether humans are inherently selfish (Hobbes) or become selfish as a result of conflicts inherent in societies (Rousseau), humans can use their free agency to rise above their selfish inclinations. This will not be easy as the moral hierarchy that Mills refers to is built into the very structure of our society, according to Young (I) which makes it very easy for whites to claim they are not personally racist while economic, political, and cultural institutions maintain the moral hierarchy that privileges these same non-racist whites. However, with free agency and our ability to reason, we can examine and question those same institutions while at the same time seeking to identify privileges whites have that are harming nonwhites. One very obvious example of this is the growing segregation in American schools. We are fortunate to live in a very diverse county and there is a great deal of opportunity here to work toward integrating our schools. Whites are in a position to choose to make that a priority by staying in currently diverse areas and by actively working toward integration of